Katarina von Swartzschild
Katerina von Swartzschild (anglicized as Katherine; d. 13 December, 1991) was a German vampire and daughter of Baron von Swartzschild. Klaus changed her on her maid Gudren's urging, and, though she left him, she returned after her plan to bring peace to Stefan and Damon Salvatore failed and resulted in them becoming vampires, she returned to Klaus. With Klaus, Katherine lost her grip on sanity, and became sadistic and cruel, and also began feeding on human blood. After two centuries at most, Katherine attempted to kill Klaus, and believed that she had. In the 20th century, she saw Elena Gilbert in Fell's Church, Virginia, and theorised that they might be distant relatives due to their resemblance. Hoping to make them feel remorse for what happened in the 15th century, she Influenced Stefan and Damon to follow her to the town, where she lives in the Gilbert house in cat form. As she watched the brothers fall in love with Elena, she became angry and wanted revenge. Katherine trapped Stefan in a well, and considered snapping Damon's neck while he was in crow form. She later drove the car Elena was driving into Drowning Creek, where she died but came back as a vampire. On 13 December, Elena and the brothers discovered the Fell crypt where Katherine had been hiding, so she proceeded to attack and toy with them. However, Elena killed her by ripping off her necklace and exposing her to the sunlight. Biography Life and becoming a vampire Katerina was born in the late 15th century, at some point after 1474, to the baron of Swartzschild, Germany. She was largely raised and cared for by her maid, Gudren, who acted as a maternal figure. During her childhood, Katerina was frail and, in her teens, she was left bedridden by a terminal disease. She was, at times, unable to breathe and was too weak to move, and her father was devastated. After the surgeon told them that Katerina was surely going to die, Gudren brought Klaus to her in her bedroom, where he exchanged blood with her. Katerina found it painful at first, but then pleasant, and was soon a vampire. Her father and his household saw this as a miraculous recovery. Gudren had a ring containing lapis lazuli made for her to act as a talisman against the Sun, and gave her possets that her son had caught for her to feed on. Gudren urged Katerina to drink human blood, which would make her stronger, but she refused, saying that she would do that only after she had found her soulmate. Time in Italy One summer in the 1490s, Baron von Swartzschild took Katerina, accompanied by Gudren, to Florence, Italy to stay in the household of Count Giuseppe Salvatore, believing that the warmer climate would be good for her health. There, Katerina met the count's youngest son, Stefan, and they fell in love. Soon, both of their fathers began speaking of wedding plans. Though Conte di Salvatore noticed that Katerina only left her chambers at twilight, he overlooked her odd behavior due to her innocent personality, and she claimed that it was due to her studies. One night, she took Stefan into the gardens and told him that she was a vampire and that she had been turned by Klaus. She also told him that she would soon have to leave her father before he got suspicious. Staging her death Physical appearance Personality and traits Relationships Father Klaus Stefan Salvatore Damon Salvatore Elena Gilbert Gudren Behind the scenes *In the television series, Katherine becomes Katerina Petrova, AKA Katherine Pierce. Notable differences include Katherine being physically identical to Elena rather than just resembling; her hair and eyes being brown instead of blonde and blue; her nationality changing from German to Bulgarian; her backstory completely changing; and a notably different relationship with Klaus. Appearances *''The Awakening'' *''The Struggle'' *''The Fury'' *''The Reunion'' *''The Return: Midnight'' Notes and references Category:Vampires Category:Turned by Klaus Category:German individuals Category:Females Category:Deaths by sunlight exposure Category:15th century births Category:15th century turnings Category:Stefan Salvatore's romantic interests Category:Damon Salvatore's romantic interests